Tupelo interim principal reassigned

Tupelo High School interim Principal Glenda Scott has been reassigned within the district and will be director of elementary curriculum.
Superintendent Randy Shaver announced the move in response to a question at a question-and-answer session Thursday night at Milam Elementary.
Scott requested the reassignment Thursday after returning from medical leave, Shaver said.
Scott will begin on Monday with her new job duties, which will include reviewing the district’s written curriculum at its nine kindergarten to fifth-grade schools, making sure it is consistent from school to school and comparing it to what is being taught. The position was created for her.
THS Assistant Principal Lee Stratton will run the day-to-day operations at the high school while the district conducts a search to fill the position, Shaver said.
The search will be discussed in executive session at Tuesday’s school board meeting and details of the process will be released on Wednesday, Shaver said. He said it will include candidates from outside the district, as well as current district personnel.
Scott could not be reached for comment Thursday night. She said through a school spokesman that she was happy with the reassignment.
“I am proud to be reassigned within the district,” Scott said.
Scott became interim principal at Tupelo High School in January when Mac Curlee retired after 14 years at the school. She began the school year as principal at Joyner, a kindergarten to second grade school. Before that, she spent six years as principal at Rankin Elementary, where she won a national Blue Ribbon award that was presented this year. She was also the 2006 Mississippi Administrator of the Year.
During her brief time at Tupelo High School, she upset some students and parents when she enforced immediate detentions for students who didn’t make it to class on time on March 4 and 5. Those students sat in the school’s rubber-floor gymnasium for 40 minutes before reporting to their next class.
Scott said the initiative was in response to requests from teachers to cut down on tardiness. The change was lifted after two days.
“As the new principal, it is very important to me that I establish school culture,” Scott said then. “I do have a sense of urgency, and I tend to push quick and want to see results.”
The week of March 8, Scott went on medical leave. She met with Shaver on Thursday and said she was well enough to return but she requested to not go back to the high school, Shaver said.
Scott will have an office in the Fillmore Center and will work under Assistant Superintendent Diana Ezell.
Ezell said that Scott will create benchmark assessments to measure students and will design professional development for teachers. She will also help with testing and observe teachers.
Scott will report to Ezell and won’t have any supervisory duties.
“Some of it is stuff I’ve already been working with, but I really can use the help to start addressing some of the issues and the gaps that the curriculum audit revealed,” Ezell said. “I’m very excited she is going to be working with me. She really knows curriculum and instruction, and she does a very good job of analyzing data and pulling that together.”